THE road to the Brendan Martin Cup was mapped out this week with the launch of the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship, which sees an all-Ulster clash between Cavan and Down in the first preliminary match next Saturday.
Armagh, who surrendered their provincial crown with a semi-final defeat to Monaghan last weekend, will face Laois in the second preliminary match on the same day in a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final, which the Orchard county won with ease.
At the draw, made in Croke Park on Monday, Tyrone were paired against the runners-up of the Connacht championship, either Mayo or Galway, who play each other on Sunday. Meath, the sixth team in the preliminary round bowl, will play the losers of Saturday’s Munster final between Cork and Kerry.
The beaten Ulster finalists – either Monaghan or Donegal – will come into the competition on August 8, while the provincial winners won’t be in All-Ireland action until August 22, meaning a four-week lay-off.
Down suffered a heavy defeat to Donegal in the Ulster quarter-final and with Cavan, who lost to Tyrone after extra-time, next up, a difficult year for Down could soon be brought to a close. However, Mourne star Anna Marie Magee says they will give the clash their all.
“Cavan are a great side, but all the girls are trying hard now,” she said.
“We will try our best and we will see how we get on. Whether it is positive or negative, we will learn something and it’s a building process for the next couple of years.”
Cavan captain Gráinne McGlade is looking forward to getting back in action following their Ulster exit.
“We know Down are struggling and are probably at the weakest they have been in a long time, but we are ready,” she said.
“We are training hard and whatever comes our way, we will be ready for them.”
Armagh manager James Daly is expecting a tough test against Laois but believes it’s the best way to get a response from the team after their defeat to Monaghan.
“Laois are a very competitive team and that’s what we need after the Monaghan game,” he said.
“There is no point getting something that wasn’t going to be competitive for us. We know how good Laois are and it’s a good focus for us now.”
Tyrone have the longest wait of the four Ulster teams in the preliminary round and were handed one of the toughest draws in the beaten Connacht finalists.
“Obviously it’s a tough draw, but you want to be playing the big teams,” said captain Neamh Woods.
“We will look at the Connacht final this weekend, but we will also focus very much on ourselves and try to improve massively on our performance from Donegal.”
The All-Ireland Intermediate Championship first round draw paired Limerick and Wicklow, with Tipperary facing Roscommon. London will play Wexford, while Longford received a bye through to round two.
The beaten Ulster finalists – either Antrim or last year’s All-Ireland runners-up Fermanagh – will enter the competition on August 8, when they will play the winners of London v Wexford, while the provincial winners will enter the fray on August 22 against either the Leinster runners-up (Kildare or Offaly) or Longford.
Derry are the sole Ulster representatives in the All-Ireland Junior Championship and face a first round game away to a Lancashire side which features a number of Ulster players. The English side are making their inter-county bow alongside Scotland. New York, last year’s beaten finalists, are also back again, with Carlow and Louth making up the six teams who will compete for silverware.
The winner of Lancashire v Derry will play Carlow in the quarter-final, while Scotland or Louth will play New York.
CAVAN manager Mick Flynn has described their All-Ireland U14 title win as the pinnacle of the county’s achievements in ladies’ football.
The Breffni girls battled back on numerous occasions to defeat Cork 0-17 to 4-4 in the A final in Banagher last Saturday, with Deirbhile McCaffrey sending the winning point over the bar just before the referee blew the final whistle.
Flynn, who has been in charge of the Breffni U14s for the past six years, could not contain his pride and delight at what this young group have achieved.
“I don’t know whether it’s sunk in yet, but I’m well aware of what we have achieved. It’s the biggest win in Cavan ladies’ football history,” he said.
“The county won the All-Ireland intermediate title a couple of years ago and there was an All-Ireland senior title almost 40 years ago, but this is the very top. We beat a team who were going for their fourth All-Ireland title in five years, have won nine in total and who have never been beaten in a final. And we beat them. It’s an almighty achievement.”
Cork found the back of the net after three minutes through Katie Quirke and looked in complete control early on. Quirke soon netted a second and a Cavan penalty from Sarah Curran was parried over the bar before Quirke completed her first half hat-trick. However, five unanswered points before the break saw Cork’s lead cut to just four points, 3-3 to 0-8.
Whatever Flynn said at half-time to his players worked wonders as Cork managed just two scores in the second half and, although their 58th minute goal from substitute Aoife Twomey looked to have knocked the stuffing out of Cavan, the players had other ideas.
With two minutes left and Cavan three points down, Curran pulled a point back. Seconds later, Leah Brady sent over a superb score to give them a lifeline and, when Erin Longair won and converted a free from a difficult angle to bring the sides level, it looked like a replay was on the cards. But Cavan were not finished and corner-forward McCaffrey had the last say to send Cavan players, management and supporters delirious.
Flynn admitted he did wonder if the team could come back from conceding a fourth goal.
“You always believe a game is not over until the final whistle and, before then, anything can happen," he said.
“We took three hammer blows with those first three goals, but we kept coming back, but when the fourth went in, I did begin to wonder if the girls would have the energy and the bottle to come back again. They showed tremendous character and no fear whatsoever.
“The manner of the victory is particularly pleasing and it’s testament to the hard work that has been put in over the past year and the years before it.”
Last year, Cavan cleaned up at underage level, winning provincial titles at minor, U16 and U14 levels. The minors have an All-Ireland A semi-final against Galway next Saturday and the U16s are in an All-Ireland B semi-final against Roscommon next Wednesday.
